A Fresh Start
by HardyBoyz4Eva
Summary: Hunter/Shawn. Slash. After Shawn is attacked by Brock Lesnar on Raw, he has to escape it all. But can he really leave his husband behind? And is Brock really done with them? Cowritten with coleypunk-y2j.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: We don't own anyone, other than Hera.**

**Warning(s):** **Slash, Violence, Mpreg**

* * *

He was in so much pain. He could barely see straight.

Shawn felt his arm being twisted tighter and tighter by Brock Lesnar. He was waiting for his husband, Hunter, to save him from this beast. He had been waiting since Brock attacked him in his car. Still, Hunter was nowhere to be found…

"Stop it! Leave him alone, Brock!" someone yelled warningly. Shawn immediately recognized the voice as Hunter's. A sense of relief washed over him when it finally stuck into his frazzled brain that he had come to the rescue.

"Don't you move!" Paul Heyman announced through the microphone he was holding. Brock gripped Shawn's arm tighter, which sent a wave of pain coursing through his entire body. "Take one more step and I swear, Brock Lesnar will break your friend's arm!"

Shawn watched through the hair hanging in his face as Hunter hesitated. He made a move like he was going to run into the ring anyway, but Brock stopped him with a threatening tug on Shawn's arm. Hunter yanked at his hair and wiped his jaw.

"Help me, Hunter!" Shawn called loudly. "Please, God, help me!"

Before anybody could do anything, Brock snapped Shawn's arm backwards. The cracking of the bone in Shawn's ear sent shivers down his spine, and he quickly escaped from Brock's hold. Hunter instantly charged after Brock, who easily escaped with Paul by his side. Instead, Hunter ran into the ring and to Shawn's side.

Shawn had never felt more betrayed in his entire life. Fear still surged through his body. "Don't touch me!" he shrieked when Hunter tried to get near him. "Get away from me, please!"

"Shawn, I'm so sorry. This wasn't meant to happen, Shawn! Please, I'm so sorry."

"Get away," Shawn whined tiredly. A few trainers rushed into the ring to tend to his broken arm. Shawn vaguely felt people around him while he slipped in and out of consciousness a few times until everything was black.

* * *

Shawn Michaels-Helmsley and Hunter Helmsley had been married for eleven years now. Together, they had a beautiful four-year-old daughter named Hera. She had Shawn's blue eyes and blonde hair. Really, she was beautiful and perfect in every way.

While Shawn spent the night at the hospital so his doctor could keep an eye on him, all he thought about was his precious daughter. She was back home in Texas with his parents while he went on the road with WWE for a few weeks. He had never felt more paranoid or afraid of someone like he was with Brock Lesnar. As soon as he was medically cleared to leave the hospital, he was flying home to Texas and getting his baby girl. He didn't need to tell Hunter where he was going. No, Shawn was pissed with his husband. How could he have not saved him from the Ass Kicker? He was probably too busy stroking his own ego to even notice Shawn's disappearance.

"Good morning, Shawn," he heard suddenly. Stirred from his thoughts, he looked in the doorway to find Dr. Kelley paused there.

"Good morning, Dr. Kelley," he responded tiredly. She walked over to him and quickly gave him an exam.

"It looks like you're doing much better," she noted. He looked at her expectantly. "I think you're cleared to leave. If you have any problems or concerns, please don't hesitate to come back. Your arm was broken, as you know, so I'm going to write you a prescription for some pain killers just in case, okay?"

"Thank you, ma'am," Shawn said with a smile. Dr. Kelley quickly wrote him a prescription and handed it to him.

"Get changed and you're free to leave once you have," she said cheerfully. He shook her hand before she left the room.

Shawn slowly got out of the hospital bed and to where his clothes were folded under the window in the room. He picked them up and took them to the bathroom. He changed quickly and, prescription, wallet, and phone in his pockets, he left the hospital. After he ran to the hotel to get his belongings, he was off to the nearest airport home.

* * *

"Hera!" Shawn called out as he walked into his parent's house. A blast of cold air hit him full-force and he was reminded of the fact that his Ma and Dad liked to keep it like a mini-freezer in there.

"Daddy!" Hera dropped the doll that she was playing with and ran over to Shawn. The look of total excitement in her eyes made him feel absolutely amazing.

Hera stopped short when she saw the dark cast on her Daddy's arm. She didn't understand what it was, but she knew that it must mean that her Daddy had been hurt somehow. Slowly, she finished her walk over to him and took hold of his hand. Carefully, she turned it over and over. His hand and arm were still a little bruised and swollen, but he let her look it over so that she could see it for herself. Otherwise, he wasn't sure that she would understand.

Shawn patted her head and lifted her in his unharmed arm. She squealed and smiled, kicking her little legs before she put her little head on his shoulder. Shawn told his Ma and Dad that he would be taking Hera now and thanks for watching her. His Dad helped to carry all of her stuff out to the car, mostly because he knew that Shawn couldn't carry Hera and all of the stuff – and Hera had never been one to walk anywhere when her Daddy was around.

"Where are we going, Daddy?" Hera asked. She slithered out of Shawn's arms and down to the floor.

"We are gonna go far, far away from here. Maybe we'll live in California. You like the beach, don't you?" Shawn rambled as he tucked her into her car seat.

"But what about Daddy Hunter?" Hera asked tiredly. All of the excitement had tired her out.

"Daddy Hunter is too busy in his own little world to care about us, sweetie. So, you know what? We don't need him. We can make it on our own." Shawn told her, before he got in the car and started to drive off to their new future.


	2. Chapter 2

Hunter looked over at the clock. It was almost 2:00 AM. The manila folders were still stacked neatly on his desk, untouched. Only a few contracts had been reviewed and approved, and even then, he was sure that he hadn't given them his undivided attention. The scene from earlier bounced around in his mind. All he could hear was the snap of Shawn's arm as it broke, followed by the broken scream that told of extreme pain and betrayal.

Shawn had immediately been taken to the hospital, and a few hours later, Hunter had received word that his husband had had to have surgery to repair the extensive damage done to his arm. It had broken Hunter's heart to think that he hadn't been there for the older man in his time of need. He felt like a failure as a husband, a failure as a father. Unintentionally, when he had provoked the beast, he had put his family in the line of fire.

Hunter sighed. It was blatantly obvious that he wouldn't get much work done tonight. Shoulders sagging, he turned off his computer and straightened the rest of the files on his desk. After a moment of consideration, he turned back and stuffed a few into his briefcase. Shawn would have to spend the night at the hospital, so he could take the time to catch up on a little work. There was nothing wrong with working ahead, after all.

He stumbled downstairs, his briefcase unusually heavy. It seemed like he carried all of his burdens in that briefcase. "Finally ready to head home, Hunter?" A bubbly AJ smiled at him.

It would never cease to amaze him how… well, energetic she could be at times. "Yeah. I had some paperwork to look over. I reviewed the case files you sent me. They're on my desk. You can have the keys if you lock up behind you."

"Thanks." She took the keys out of his hand. An awkward silence passed between them, and Hunter was about to walk away, when AJ looked at him with tear-filled chocolate eyes. "I'm so sorry, Hunter."

Hunter looked at her, confused. He honestly had no idea what she had to be sorry about. "About what?"

"I should have kept a better eye on Shawn. I knew that Brock threatened him and I just let it happen and…"

"Don't worry about it, AJ. It was really only my fault. If Vince gets on your case about it, tell him that I take full responsibility for the whole situation. But I'll give him your condolences."

That bubbly smile returned to her face and Hunter was reminded of her mental instability. "Thanks, Hunter."

"Not a problem, kiddo."

He couldn't help but feel a sense of extreme unease as he watched her skip off. But he shook it off, sure that it was only a fleeting feeling. He had them sometimes. Usually, the worst that came of them was that Hera would scrape her knee on her play set outside and they would sneak ice cream before dinner. He unlocked his car and threw his briefcase into the backseat. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. Nothing… to worry about.

* * *

"What do you mean that he checked himself out of the hospital?" Hunter almost screamed, but then he remembered that he was at the nurse's desk in a _hospital_, and it would be rather rude to scream in the middle of the hall.

Dr. Kelley stood in front of him. "I was the one who did the operation, Mr. Helmsley. He had started on the road to recovery and I prescribed him some pain killers to take the edge off."

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Hunter hissed. He would think that _someone_ would call to tell him this.

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Dr. Kelley explained simply. "Shawn was in the right frame of mind to make decisions for himself. When I asked if he wanted me to have a call sent to you, he declined the offer."

"Why would he do that?" Hunter nearly spat in anger.

"That I don't know, Mr. Helmsley," she responded. Suddenly, her beeper went off. "Sorry, I have to take this. Best of luck, sir."

She was off and down the hall almost instantaneously. Furious, Hunter left the hospital and drove to the hotel, all the while calling Shawn's phone. It went right to voicemail.

"Shawn, where are you, baby?" Hunter asked into the speaker. "Call me back when you get this. Love you."

Hunter ended the call with a groan. The rest of the drive was done so in silence. When he opened his hotel door to an empty room, his heart skipped a beat.

"Shawn?" Hunter called, his voice echoing off the walls. He went into the bathroom. "Shawn, baby? Where are you?"

Hunter sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. That's when he noticed all of Shawn's belongings were gone.

* * *

"Daddy, when will we be there?" Hera whined from the backseat. She had been asleep for the duration of the drive, though had just woken up due to the sun rising in the sky.

"In the time it takes four Sesame Street's to play on the TV," Shawn explained to his daughter. She was too young to understand that Malibu was only four hours away. She let out another whine before she started crying.

"But I have to go pee-pee," she cried.

"Okay, Hera. I'll find a place to stop. Can you hold it in for one Spongebob episode?"

Hera nodded. Shawn smiled at her through the rearview mirror and got off the next exit. He quickly located a McDonald's and parked in the parking lot before letting Hera out of her car seat. Together, they walked into the building and directly in the women's bathroom. He got a few odd looks from women at the sink before they saw his daughter, though he remained totally oblivious to them. He opened a stall and helped Hera onto the toilet. Once she was finished, Shawn unzipped his pants and went to the bathroom, too. Hera watched curiously.

"Daddy, why aren't you sitting down?" Hera asked.

"Boys don't need to sit when they pee like girls do," Shawn explained, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. His baby was getting so old, so quickly. She never noticed little things like this before. He zipped up his pants and flushed the toilet. Hera waved to the water as it spun down the drain. Shawn helped her wash her hands and waited patiently while she figured out how to get a paper towel to dry her hands with. When they left the bathroom, Hera looked up at Shawn with big eyes.

"I'm hungry Daddy."

Shawn looked at the clock on the wall. It was only just past seven. "Do you want to go to Denny's and get some pancakes?"

Hera nodded eagerly. It was rare they went out for breakfast, as Shawn preferred cooking his daughter a wholesome meal at home. Times could change, though. They had to, or else people would continually betray you. Shawn learned that the hard way, and it still stung that Hunter had done it to him.

"Can I get the chocolate chip ones?" Hera asked sweetly.

"You can have whatever you want, princess," Shawn promised her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Shawn? Shawn!" Now, Hunter had really started to freak out. He looked around, from the closet to the little dresser by the window that overlooked a beautiful city street, and couldn't find one item of Shawn's.

He was certain that he had never felt as lost as he did in that moment. Frantically, he scanned the room. If he hadn't known that Shawn had once been there, he was certain that he would never notice the difference. Shawn hadn't even left him a _note_. A sick feeling filled his stomach and he gripped onto the nearest surface so that he wouldn't fall down. There was only one solution. Shawn had left him. Shawn didn't trust him anymore, so he _left _him.

Tears came to his eyes unbidden, but he wouldn't let them fall. He needed to think about this with a clear head. If he were Shawn, and had just been abandoned (or, at least, felt as if he had been abandoned) by the love of his life, where would he go? He drew a blank. And while he liked to believe it was because, if he were in Shawn's position, he would have stayed and talked it out. He wouldn't have come to irrational conclusions. Really, it was his rebellious emotions.

Hunter had to come to the logical conclusion that Shawn couldn't reach. Brock was a menace to the both of them. And maybe, as much as he hated to admit it, it was safer for Shawn _and_ Hera if they both left town for a little while. Hid where Brock couldn't get his slimy hands on them. Violent images flashed in his mind's eye about what would have happened if Brock had taken one more step and put his hands on Hera. Hunter would _massacre_ him.

Not knowing what else to do, he took out his phone and dialed Vince's number. He had dated Stephanie for a while and during that time, Vince had become like a second father to him. He was the first man that Hunter came out to and one of the first to confess that homosexual relationships weren't all that uncommon in wrestling. His own lover, Eric Bischoff, had been in the business for so many years and had also seen many homosexual relationships in his time.

Vince answered on the second ring. "_Hello?"_

"Vince – hi, um…" Hunter stuttered as he tried to find his words. He wasn't exactly sure what to say to the man. "Um… I'm sorry to call so late. I just have… I have a little bit of a problem."

_"It must be a pretty big 'little' problem if you're calling me at this hour to tell me about it. Is it about Shawn?"_ Vince asked innocently, unaware of the weight that his question carried.

"Yeah… um, he's not here at the moment." Well, that was obvious. In all truth, he should still be in bed at the hospital, recovering. "And he's not at the hospital either. He… left. He left… me."

Vince hummed in understanding. _"Well, I can say that Eric and I haven't heard from him. He most likely has some sort of confidant there." _But then, his tone turned grave, "_You do know that 'this' is because you poked the bear."_

Finally, the tears started to fall. This time, Hunter couldn't stop them. "I know. I _know_ that this is my fault."

Vince paused. _"You'd better fix this. Beat Brock, or let this insane feud rest before it kills you _and_ Shawn."_

Hunter couldn't promise that. "I'll… do my best."

Vince hung up after saying a brisk goodbye, leaving Hunter alone with his thoughts once again in the empty room. The way he saw things, he had two options. The first would be to track Shawn down right now and try to fix all of this, which would mean he'd be unprepared for his match at SummerSlam. Or, he could work his ass off this final week so he could successfully beat Brock Lesnar at the PPV, and then sort this mess with Shawn out when there wasn't a time restriction.

Ultimately, the latter won.

* * *

"Hera, look at all these palm trees," Shawn commented with a smile. "And look at the big hills and mountains, too."

"Water!" Hera shouted from her car seat. Shawn snuck a few glances at it while he drove on; it was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Would you like to swim in it?" Shawn asked. "Play in the sand, too? It looks so clean and pure. It's nearly white."

"I could make a castle and be a princess and you could be the king!" she giggled. Shawn reached one hand back to tickle her leg. She shrieked with laughter.

"You're already my little princess," Shawn said, smiling. To himself, he spotted a hotel that was close to the beach – perfect for the two of them until he could look at houses. He parked the car in the parking lot and got Hera out of her seat. He carried her in.

"Good afternoon!" a smiling woman greeted them. "Would you like a room here?"

"Yes, please," Shawn said with a smile. "For me and my daughter. We don't need anyone else, do we, Princess?" He tickled her side.

"Stop!" Hera giggled, trying to pry herself from his arms to escape the tickling.

The woman continued smiling as she pushed a keycard towards Shawn. He picked it up gratefully and led them toward their room. This was the start of their new life together without Hunter.

Shawn slid the keycard into the slot and opened the door to a spacious room. A massive window covered the far wall almost entirely, which gave a beautiful view of the beach. A flat-screen TV was mounted to the wall. The queen-sized bed faced it against the opposite wall. Just before the bed was a slight partition, and just before that was a door that led to a bathroom. A small kitchen sat just to the left of the door, and a small dining table with three chairs sat just to the right.

"Pretty!" Hera declared. She shimmied out of Shawn's arms and fell onto the plush carpet with a soft thud. Shawn watched, amused, as she ran around the room and took in all of its features. She soon ran back up to him with a smile.

"I'm hungry," she said.

"Let's go get lunch," Shawn said. "Then afterwards we can go to a store and get food to bring back. Go to the bathroom before we leave!"

Watching Hera run off toward the bathroom, Shawn smiled slightly. It wasn't ideal to do so, but he could get used to life like this.


	4. Chapter 4

Shawn slid Hera into the child seat in one of the carts and buckled her in. It was rare that Shawn took Hera to the store with him; mostly because she liked to throw stuff into the cart when he had his back turned. But now, she looked so innocently naïve, and Shawn didn't know why he didn't do this more often. Hera nursed her lemon-lime soda, which rested in her tiny arms. The bottle was almost the same size as her torso. Shawn chuckled and ruffled her soft blonde locks.

That's when a familiar tune hit his ears. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved his cell phone and looked at the Caller ID. It was Hunter. This was the third time that Hunter had called him in as many days. He looked at the phone with disdain, before he threw it down on the seat next to Hera. With a wet _pop_, Hera took her mouth off of the bottle and looked down at the phone in confusion. But before she could ask, Shawn made his way to the first aisle. It was filled with different sodas, seltzer water, coffee, and tea.

"Daddy?" Hera kicked her little legs and started to suckle on her bottle again. Shawn made a small noise to show that he was listening, all the while removing a box of tea from a shelf. "Isn't it kinda mean to leave Daddy Hunter?"

Shawn blinked once, before he tossed the tea into the basket. "I don't know why it would be, sweetheart. Daddy was the one who turned his back on us, first. I wouldn't worry about him."

Hera looked down at her bottle. It was now half-empty. "Did Brock Lesnar hurt you real bad, Daddy?" Her innocence made him smile and he kissed the crown of her head.

"Yeah, he did. But you don't have to worry about him, baby. We moved far, far away from Brock Lesnar. He can't hurt either of us anymore." Shawn assured her. He moved forward and took a can of decaf coffee off the shelf.

"Okay." Hera seemed to accept that. After all, why would her Daddy lie to her? "Do you love Daddy Hunter?"

Shawn froze. He blinked a few times, trying to make sure that he had heard her correctly. "What was that, Hera?"

"I asked you if you loved Daddy Hunter." Hera asked once more.

Shawn swallowed hard and nodded. This conversation had just taken an uncomfortable turn for the worse. "I love him, sure. I may not like him a lot right now, but I still love him. You can love someone and not like them."

From the look of confusion on her sweet little face, he could tell that she didn't understand a word that he had said. Nevertheless, she nodded and turned her attention back to her bottle. Shawn hurried to finish the shopping. After _that_ particular conversation, he just wanted to be inside the safety of their hotel room. Even if he wasn't thrilled with the way Hunter had acted, it was still difficult for him to be on his own and fend for Hera by himself. After the scare with Brock Lesnar, he didn't feel safe. And if he wasn't safe, then Hera wasn't safe either.

He paid for all of the groceries and took them out to the car. Lifting Hera out of the child seat, he buckled her into her car seat and switched out her bottle with a fresh lemon-lime soda. Once all of the bags were in the trunk, he climbed behind the wheel and started back for the hotel. Hera toyed with the lid on her bottle. Shawn had loosened it for her, but she didn't seem too interested in drinking it. But that was okay. She probably shouldn't drink much more; otherwise he would have to find somewhere to stop for a bathroom break on the way back to the hotel…

In the silence, he was allowed a chance to reflect on the true weight of the situation. He was out of SummerSlam, not that he cared too much. To be completely truthful, he didn't want to be within a hundred feet of his husband right now. But still, the match between Brock and Hunter was on. Brock would _hurt_ Hunter. No, he would do more than _hurt_ him. He would _mutilate_ him. And Shawn knew for a fact that Hunter's arm wasn't fully healed. He still didn't know how Hunter had convinced the medical personnel to let him wrestle, but…

"We're home, sweetie." Shawn smiled at her in the rearview mirror. "Once all of the groceries are in, what do you say we rent a Disney Princess movie and eat the cherry vanilla ice cream we bought?"

Hera smiled softly, but she didn't look all that thrilled over it. "Daddy, can I take a nap? I'm sleepy."

Shawn blinked, surprised that his little girl had asked to take a nap. "Sure, baby. Do you feel sick?"

"No." Hera shook her head. "I'm really sleepy."

"Okay, baby. You can take a nap as soon as we go in." Shawn told her. "Do you want anything special for dinner? Macaroni and cheese? Chicken tenders?"

Hera finally took a sip of her drink. "Can I have chicken tenders?" Her mutilated pronunciation of 'tenders' made Shawn smile.

"Sure, baby. I'll have them ready for you when you get up from your nap."

Shawn cut the engine and walked around to her side of the car, carefully lifting her out and balancing her tired frame in his good arm. He carried her back to the hotel room and set her on the soft bed, watching with a smile as the mattress dipped down around her little body. She giggled sweetly, before she closed her eyes and allowed Shawn to tuck the blanket around her. Humming off-key to his baby, it didn't take long for her to fall away into her dreamland. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight, baby." And, for the first time, he wondered about the effects of this mess on Hera…


	5. Chapter 5

Hunter wiped his face off with a towel and checked the big clock on the wall. He had been exercising the past three hours. The burn in his muscles signaled he was getting stronger for his match with Brock.

He was on his way back to his hotel room when his phone rang. He answered it instantly, in the hopes it would be Shawn.

_"Hunter, it's Vince,"_ the voice on the other line said. Hunter sighed slightly.

"What's up, Vince?" he asked.

_"Have you patched things up with Shawn yet?"_

"No, I haven't," he answered truthfully. "I haven't heard from him either. I've called him about twenty times. It rings straight through to voice mail."

Vince sighed slowly on the line. _"Kid, I thought I told you to mend things between the two of you before something bad happened."_

"Well, nothing bad has happened yet," Hunter snapped back a little too quickly. "Once I win this fight against Brock at SummerSlam, I'll have all the time in the world to hunt down Shawn and fix this mess between us. Just… just leave me be until then, yeah?"

_"You'd better hope you're making the right decision, Hunter,"_ Vince spat back. He loathed being disrespected. _"Because if you're not and you're royally screwing yourself right here, I'm going to have your ass about it. Got it?"_

"Yeah, got it," Hunter hissed. He entered his hotel room and slammed the door shut. He didn't bother saying "good-bye" before he hung the phone up and tossed his cell phone in the middle of his bed. He sat down on the edge and put his face in his hands. He really did hope he was making the right decision.

* * *

When Hera woke from her nap, she looked visibly rested and seemingly had forgotten about Hunter's absence. And, as promised, Shawn had her chicken tenders prepared and waiting for her when she woke up.

"Thank you Daddy," she told him with a smile before eating the food on her plate hungrily.

"You're welcome, Princess," he responded, smiling. He picked half of his BLT sandwich up and took a big bite out of it. The two made small talk while they ate.

After dinner, Shawn knelt down to Hera's height and asked her if she wanted to go out on the beach for a while. She eagerly said yes and proceeded to bounce around excitedly until Shawn was finally ready to go. They walked hand-in-hand to the beach, the sand like soft velvet under their bare toes. Hera raced over to an open area on the sand and started playing with it and molding it into shapes.

"I'm making a castle," she informed Shawn.

"Want me to help you?" he asked.

"No!" she shrieked at first, but then said, "okay, you can build the moat."

Shawn went around Hera in a circle, carving out a moat for her. Once he was finished, she had constructed a fairly impressive castle already.

"That's beautiful, Hera," he commented. The sunset washed over the ocean, making it appear orange. It shone right through Hera's hair. The blonde pieces reflected the sun, making her hair look like a light bulb.

"I live in this part," she said, pointing to a large section of the castle. "You live in the space next to mine, with Daddy Hunter. And Brock Lesnar can't get in because we built the moat. Now he can't break your other arm and he can't break Daddy Hunter's arms and he can't break my arms."

"Don't you worry about Brock Lesnar," Shawn assured his daughter. "He can't get to us, and he'd never lay a finger on you. I'd kill him if he did."

"But what if Brock Lesnar killed you first?" Hera asked quietly, not meeting Shawn's eyes.

"Daddy Hunter would come in and save you."

"But Daddy Hunter doesn't know we're here," Hera said, her voice a scared whisper now. "If Brock Lesnar finds us, and he kills you, then nobody can save me."

* * *

Shawn leaned forward and kissed her blonde hair sweetly. Hera smiled at the loving attention. "That won't happen. I don't want you to think about this anymore, okay? Brock Lesnar will never find us here."

"Pinky promise, Daddy?" Hera, on her chubby little knees, stuck out her pinky for Shawn to hook his around. "'Cause you know that you can't break a pinky promise." She batted her eyelashes sweetly.

Shawn was hesitant at first. If only Hera knew how fragile a pinky promise was in comparison to the real threat that was Brock Lesnar. "I pinky promise." He sealed the deal with the small, but powerful, sentiment.

"Good." Hera nodded as she sat back down. But then, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. "Ice cream! Daddy, can I please have an ice cream cone?" She asked.

"Sure, baby." Shawn climbed to his feet and took her hand. "You can have anything you want." They walked over to the vendor and got two chocolate ice cream cones.

With such a simple promise, Hera had completely forgotten about the monster that was Brock Lesnar. But Shawn hadn't. He knew that the threat that Brock posed was all too real. And a simple trek to the west coast wouldn't make a difference if Brock followed them. Brock was a dangerous man. He had trained not only as a wrestler, but also as an MMA performer. If he wanted to end Shawn, or even Hera, it was unlikely that Shawn could stop him.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket. Thinking it was Hunter, he decided to ignore it. But when the call rang straight through to voice mail and the caller tried again, he gave in to the persistency and checked the Caller ID. It wasn't Hunter. It was Vince. Not knowing what Vince would want with him, and at this hour, he rose to his feet and walked a little ways off. Hera was still in his line of vision and he could still see her, however.

"What is it, Vince?" Shawn spat. He was retired, damn it! He was retired, with a broken arm, and he didn't want to deal with the Chairman's shit.

_"I just got off of the phone with Hunter."_ A groan. Shawn contemplated hanging up, but Vince's words made him freeze in his tracks. _"If you hang up on me, Shawn, then I'll tell Hunter _exactly_ where you ran off too."_

Shawn frowned, disgusted with Vince's underhanded tactics. "And how would you know?"

_"I have eyes and ears all over the place, Shawn. He's like a son to me. You think I'd just let you run free?"_

"What the hell do you want from me? Why did you call me?" Shawn all-but-screamed into the receiver. Hera whipped her head around, alarmed by the noise. Shawn shushed her and instantly became calm again.

_"I wanted to let you know that Hunter is planning on fulfilling his match with Brock. Paul Hayman took it one step too far this time. He insulted Hera."_ Vince said.

Shawn's blood boiled. Earlier, if he ever doubted that he could kill Brock Lesnar, he knew that he could now. Still, he forced himself to be indifferent. "Tell him to go ahead. It's not my call to make."

_"His arm isn't fully healed, Shawn. It would be career suicide."_

Shawn flinched, remembering his own almost manic desire to beat the Undertaker. He had to do it, and he was so confident that he _could_ do it, that he bet his own career on it. It had been one of the greatest matches of his career, but in the end, he just couldn't win it. Apparently, that was a lesson that Hunter still needed to learn. Sometimes, it was time to bury the hatchet and chose to fight another day.

Shawn forced his voice to remain steady. "And how is that my problem. He made his bed, now he can lay in it."

_"Without you?"_ Shawn could almost see him raise his eyebrow. _"I'm just going to make the assumption that when this phone call is over, you're done. You don't want to see Hunter again."_

"Maybe that's true." Shawn looked to Hera, tears budding in his eyes.

_"Then you tell him that to his face. Be a man and confront the matter before you end up losing the man that you love in more ways than one. And don't lie to me, Shawn. I know that you love him."_

Before Shawn could say another word, Vince ended the call. He slid his phone into his back pocket, doing his best to steady himself before he made his way back over to Hera. If she noticed the dried tears on his face or the swollen, red puffiness of his eyes, then she thankfully didn't mention it. He helped her to finish her castle in utter silence, before he took a picture of her standing proudly behind it.

Later, as they were walking back to the hotel, Hera tried to ask about the phone call and why he was crying. He never answered her, acting like he hadn't heard her. After looking at her Daddy with hopeful, almost tearful eyes for several minutes, she finally turned away and, with a little less enthusiasm, skipped the rest of the way back to their new home. As soon as she hit the bed, she was out like a light. Shawn watched her with a rueful smile.

He was in for a long night ahead.


	6. Chapter 6

Hera was plagued with bad dreams all night long. Sure, Daddy Shawn was immediately there to comfort her, but terror still surged through her body each time she stared out into the pitch black room, not knowing if the big monster, Brock Lesnar, was lurking in the dark corners of the room. Once the sun finally started to cast small rays of light into their room, assuring Hera that there was nowhere for Brock to hide, she finally felt safe enough to fall into a heavy sleep.

* * *

Shawn stared down at his baby, who had finally fallen into a peaceful sleep, and rubbed his tired eyes slowly. He hadn't slept once, knowing Hera wasn't sleeping for longer than thirty minutes at a stretch, and also partly because he himself was terrified Brock Lesnar would track them down and try to harm either of them. He wrapped his arm around his daughter's body a little tighter and shut his eyes. However, sleep didn't come over him like it had to Hera. He found himself opening his eyes every few moments to make sure Lesnar hadn't miraculously appeared in their room.

Needless to say, Shawn stayed awake for quite a few hours until Hera rolled over and yawned. She blinked her pretty eyes a few times and looked up at Shawn with a smile.

"Good morning Daddy," she said with a smile. "What time is it?"

"It's a little after 9:30," Shawn answered. He ran his hand through her tangled hair gently. "Are you hungry, Princess?"

Hera nodded. She looked at his face and frowned in concern.

"Did you sleep, Daddy?" she asked.

"Yeah, I got a little sleep," Shawn lied. "How about I make you some eggs and toast, hm?"

While Hera ran to the bathroom, Shawn busied himself with cooking breakfast for himself and his daughter. He looked at his phone and noticed it was Thursday.

"You're got three days until the biggest match of your career," Shawn muttered to himself. "Don't let us down. Break the beast before he breaks your family."

Hera came into the kitchen with a comb stuck in her hair and tears running down her face. "Daddy, it got stuck, and it hurts really bad."

Shawn slid the bowl he had beat the eggs in off to the side and bent down to Hera. He carefully untangled the comb from her hair and kissed her head where her hair had been yanked at. "Why don't you go get a brush, sweetheart, and I'll brush your hair for you?"

While Hera ran off to do that, Shawn poured the eggs into a pan and started to turn them over so they were cooked through evenly. By the time Hera came back in with a brush, he had a plate full of eggs and a piece of toast with peanut butter and banana bits spread over it waiting for her. She eyed it hungrily before crawling up onto the barstool carefully. While she ate hungrily, Shawn stood behind her and carefully brushed the kinks out of her beautiful blonde hair. Once the brush ran through her hair without getting snagged by a knot, he set the brush down and started to eat his breakfast.

"Is it true?" Hera asked him abruptly.

"Is what true, Hera?" Shawn asked with curiosity.

"What Uncle Vince said last night on the phone," Hera clarified. "Was that true? Does he really know where we are?"

"How did you find out about that?" Shawn asked quietly. He thought he had been a reasonable distance away from his daughter when Shawn had called. Apparently, he hadn't.

"Uncle Vince was being really loud," Hera told him. "If Uncle Vince knows where we are, does that mean Brock Lesnar can find where we are?"

"Honey, Brock Lesnar is getting ready for a big match in three days. He has other things to do than to come find us. Besides, why would he even want to? We haven't done anything to him."

"You tried to help Daddy Hunter. Maybe Brock is mad at you like he's mad at Daddy Hunter."

Shawn brushed her cheek comfortingly. "Baby, don't you worry about Brock Lesnar, okay? You're safe with me."

Though not completely satisfied with Shawn's answer, Hera nodded anyway and turned back to her food. Her appetite had disappeared, however, and she told Shawn so.

"Okay, Princess," Shawn said. He lifted her off the chair and set her down on the floor. He watched with a heavy heart as she walked with a slowness that's not like her back to bed, where she covered herself up into a cocoon. Shawn sighed. He cleaned up their messes and just decided to join her. Maybe he'd finally find some sleep this time, too.

* * *

It was only after a rough day at the gym that Hunter noticed his favorite picture – the one that had been taken at the beach last year; it was his favorite because it was Hera's first trip, and she looked so adorable with her blonde hair all coated in sand – was missing. His heart hammered madly in his chest as he attempted to locate it into his hotel room, but to no avail. He would never leave it out in the open and just risk someone taking it, so where the hell could it have gotten to? And then, his heart sank as he noticed the letter on the hotel bureau.

_Hunter,_

_You obviously don't get it, do you? Your little bitch and that half-witted tyke you call a daughter won't last two seconds when I get my hands on them. It'll be easy, once I take you out of the equation. You see, after I win at SummerSlam, I fully intend to head on down to California and get my hands on your boy. Show him what a real man is like. I'm sure you wouldn't mind. After all, you did leave your wedding ring on the bureau, along with this darling little picture. I'll have to keep it, just in case. Again, I'm sure you won't mind._

_Brock_


	7. Chapter 7

Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Shawn didn't get any sleep that night either. He finally threw in the towel a few hours before dawn, carefully sliding out of bed and pulling on his old, tattered bathrobe. It was rather chilly and the last thing he needed was to get sick while he had to use all of his energy to defend Hera. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him that Brock knew where they were, and while he tried his best to keep this from Hera, he knew that she knew as well.

But what could he do about it? Brock Lesnar was a crafty SOB, if not a monster for his brute strength. By the time Shawn finally made a decision about what to do, Brock would have already made a move and further endangered his family. He turned back, looking at Hera. She was curled up in the mountain of blankets, sucking on her thumb. She looked so peaceful like that, so _breakable_. Hera was too small, too fragile, to defend herself. It simply wasn't fair. The odds were stacked so highly against them…

He took a seat at the bar and took out one of the bottles of water he had bought. He used it to take his pain medication. The pain was numbing his mind and making it more difficult to think, and he couldn't afford that. After a little while, the medication kicked in and with it, came an idea. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his cell phone. He would call an old buddy from DX, a man that he always knew would have his back. That man was 'Iron' Mike Tyson.

* * *

Hunter burst into Vince's office, irate. He held the empty picture frame in one hand.

"Can I help you?" Vince asked sarcastically. Hunter slammed the item down on the desk in front of him.

"Brock just made this whole thing more personal," Hunter hissed. His face was turning red in anger, and a few veins were starting to pop out on his forehead. "He stole my favorite picture of my baby girl. You might have a dead body on your hands in two days, Vince, because once I get in that ring I don't know what I'm going to do to that monster."

"Well, if it offers you any comfort, I talked to Shawn and he's okay. He and Hera are safe, and Brock is nowhere near them. In fact, I think Brock and Mr. Heyman are hanging out in catering right now. Don't you dare threaten his life, Hunter, because I'm not going to deal with a potential lawsuit on behalf of your stupid ass. Save it for Sunday."

With a grunt, Hunter took the frame and left his boss' office. He made a beeline for catering, where he did indeed find Brock and Paul talking about something. He stormed over to them and fixed Brock with an angry look. He looked back at him with a sick, smug look of satisfaction.

"Don't you _dare_ bring my baby into this, Lesnar," Hunter hissed. "Beat me up, choke me out, kill me, do whatever you want, but do not bring Hera into this mess. She didn't do anything to deserve this."

"Don't you see, Hunter?" Brock started. "It doesn't matter how far I break you. You'll always get back to your feet and demand a rematch, despite the fact that you've yet to beat me once. By making it personal, Hunter, maybe you'll back off and realize you can't beat me."

"Give me back the photo," Hunter growled.

Brock reached into his pocket and held up the picture. It had crease marks from obviously being folded, and the edges were looking a little soft. "You mean this one?"

"Yes, I mean that one," Hunter snapped. He reached for the photo, but Brock was quicker and immediately jerked his hand back.

"I do believe it's mine now, Helmsley. Finders keepers, after all."

Hunter drew his hand into a fist, and that's when Paul stepped in.

"Hunter, if you put one finger on Brock Lesnar, I will sue you and you won't even get the chance to fight Brock at SummerSlam. Don't do it, Hunter."

Hunter bit his lip and relaxed his fist. He picked the frame back up again and left catering, ignoring the overwhelming urge to go back in there and choke the life out of Brock Lesnar.


	8. Chapter 8

The man answered his phone on the third ring.

"Shawn!" Mike exclaimed, surprised. "I haven't heard from you in forever! How are you doing, man?"

"Rough, actually, Mike," Shawn confessed. "You know Brock Lesnar, right?"

Mike gave a short snort. "How can you not know who Brock Lesnar is? The man is a powerhouse."

"Which is exactly what's wrong," Shawn spoke, "because he and Hunter have a match on Sunday, and he brought me and Hera into the mess, too."

"What do you mean?" Mike asked, serious.

"What I mean is he's threatened to leave Hunter bloody and immediately come for me, and then for our angel, Hera."

"If you and Hunter stand unified, you'll be fine," Mike reasoned.

"Yeah, well, Hunter doesn't exactly care about us anymore," Shawn sniffed. "He betrayed me. I took Hera and I to California, and Vince knows where I am even though I didn't tell anybody. Brock will definitely manipulate him into telling him where we are, and then he'll come for us."

"Don't be stupid, man. Call Hunter and meet up with him. There's safety in numbers."

"I wish it were that easy," Shawn sighed slowly.

"Well, if you can't fix it with Hunter, man, I'll have your back. I promised you that years ago, and I'm true to my word. If you need anything, just give me a call."

"Thanks, Mike. I'll talk to you later," Shawn said before he hung up.

Shawn cast another look over at his daughter, who was starting to wake up. She let out a big yawn before rubbing her eyes and looking around for him. When her eyes landed on Shawn, she smiled sleepily.

"I slept and you looked out for Brock Lesnar," she stated. "Thank you for keeping him away Daddy."

"Anytime, Princess," Shawn promised, going over to hold her close. He sent out a prayer that he could live up to that promise in the near future.

* * *

"Are you ready to watch SummerSlam, baby girl?" Shawn asked Hera gently. They had gone out to the beach for a few hours, and she looked exhausted. Still, she had insisted on watching the pay per view with her father. Normally Shawn didn't allow her to watch wrestling, but tonight was different.

"Yes," she said, smiling. Shawn had given her a small bowl filled with cut up mango, strawberries, and blueberries. The juicy fruit covered her face and had dripped onto the front of her shirt and all over her hands. Shawn's heart swelled with love for the little girl.

Once he clock hit 5 pm, Shawn ordered the program with his remote. They watched some promos before the show began. Shawn's heart stopped when he realized where the pay per view was taking place: Los Angeles.

"Who's that?" Hera asked, pointing to the screen.

"That's Chris Jericho," he told her. "He's going to fight Dolph Ziggler."

Hera leaned back onto Shawn's stomach and watched the match with growing interest. The two watched Chris win, and then Daniel Bryan beating Kane.

During The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio, Shawn got up to make himself a sandwich, and Hera a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, while Hera laid on her stomach and watched The Miz win.

"Daddy, why is he taking the belt from Rey?" she asked innocently. "I thought that was his."

"It was," Shawn explained. "But since Miz beat Rey, he gets the belt now."

Satisfied with the answer, Hera ate the sandwich her father brought over. They watched the rest of the matches in silence until Brock Lesnar's music hit, and he came through the curtain. He felt Hera squeeze onto his leg fearfully and shrink back into him closer.

"It's okay baby. He's fighting now. He can't get us," Shawn assured her.

Hunter's music hit, and he came out into the ring with his usual theatrics.

"Daddy?" Hera gasped, surprised. She pointed to Hunter on the screen and looked up at Shawn with wide, happy eyes. "Daddy, that's Daddy Hunter!"

"Yes it is, baby," Shawn said, trying to mask his hurt. What Hunter had done solidified his need to not be with his family.

The two watched the match, flinching when Brock came onto the screen suddenly, and feeling the pain whenever Hunter was hurt. Finally, after a grueling match, Hunter tapped out, leaving Brock with a smug grin on his face. Hunter crawled out of the ring and looked around the arena with sad eyes. He clutched his bad arm to his stomach and tears welled in his eyes before he waved to the crowd and left.

* * *

Hunter listened to the doctor's ramblings about proper care of his injured arm – and, especially, about how he should not have contested that match in the first place – and the possibility of a second operation with moderate interest. He didn't much care for what the doctor had to say. His arm was broken, he knew that… he could _feel_ that. But he could also feel a sense of disappointment and fear stirring within him. What if Shawn and Hera had been watching? What if they _knew_?

Hunter had never considered himself a weak man. He was strong, self-sufficient, and he could most _certainly_ provide his family with everything that they needed to be happy and to lead productive lives. But now, he had let his hubris come out and… all that he had worked so hard to build, all that he had worked so hard to obtain… it was quickly flying out of his hands. Shawn and Hera were in danger. If something, _anything_ were to happen to them, he didn't know _what_ he would do. And it was all because he had _tapped out…_

With his good arm, he poured the contents of a bottle of water over his head, trying to shake some feeling back into his body. He felt like an absolute wreck, like a tractor-trailer had done cartwheels all over his body. And, in his mind at least (and in the mind of Brock Lesnar, no doubt), he felt as if he deserved it. He hadn't been able to provide for his family and now he had to suffer the consequences. Wallowing in his self-pity, he almost missed the heavy hand that came to rest upon one of his swollen shoulders.

"I've just been in contact with Shawn." Vince's unmistakable voice washed over Hunter like a calming wave. "He and Hera are being moved to a secure location, where they will be safe. I can't tell you where it is, but you can call them."

Hunter looked away, not willing to admit how disgusted he was with himself. "It's not like he would answer, anyhow."

"That's why I came to give you this." Vince handed him a flip-phone, which bore the company logo on a sticker on the back. "It's not under your name, so he won't know that it's you. I told him to put the number in his phone… he thinks that it's me."

Hunter couldn't resist a small smirk. "That's terribly underhanded, boss."

"You can't get ahead in this business without being a little underhanded sometimes." Vince shrugged. "You take care of that, you hear?"

"Yes sir." Hunter answered right away.

"Good. He'll be expecting a call from you tomorrow at seven, their time. They are two hours behind us, just so you know."

"Thank you, sir." Hunter said. He was already thinking about what he would say. And even if Shawn didn't want to hear it, he would say it anyhow. Just hearing Shawn's voice would be music to his ears right about now…


	9. Chapter 9

Shawn woke up a half hour before seven and sat in bed with his phone close by. Hera, as he had expected, woke up when he started moving about and looked up at him with half-shut eyes.

"Why are you awake so early, Daddy?" she asked tiredly.

"I'm expecting a phone call, Princess," he explained to her softly.

Satisfied with that answer, she shut her eyes again and rolled back over to sleep.

He had received a call from Vince yesterday afternoon that he and Hera were being moved somewhere safe, and also that he'd be getting a phone call at seven the next morning from him about something. He had packed what little items they had and, carrying Hera in his good arm, walked to a company limousine surrounded by security and driven somewhere he didn't even know. He supposed it was for the best. The only information he received on the location was that he was near Hollywood. With a reassured feeling, knowing Mike Tyson lived close by, he entered the heavily-secured apartment with his daughter.

The apartment was modern and boasted two bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms. Despite the extra bedroom, Shawn felt safer having Hera sleep with him. It was a comfort for the both of them to share a room. The apartment lacked many windows, which Shawn didn't particularly mind. The windows they did have were adorned with blackout curtains and double locking mechanisms. Despite the security overboard, Shawn still felt a certain uneasiness about the apartment. If only Hunter were here…

No, Shawn snapped in his head. Hunter didn't have any use for them anymore. And, because he didn't need them, then they didn't need him. Shawn was perfectly capable of protecting himself AND his daughter single-handedly. And, at least in the meantime, literally.

Shawn watched the minutes tick by in the dark room until, finally, the clock turned seven. And, right on time, his ever-punctual boss called.

"Hello?" Shawn answered quietly so as to not disrupt Hera again.

A sigh of relief washed over the line. "Shawn, it's you."

Shawn tensed. He'd know that voice anywhere. "What do you want, Hunter? Why do you have Vince's phone?"

"I needed to talk to you," Hunter explained gently. "I'm glad you're safe now. Vince is going to protect you and Hera from Brock. And when my arm is healed again, you won't need Vince to do it for you, because I'll be there."

"Who says I need your help?" Shawn snapped bitterly. "Just because I'm smaller and I haven't wrestled in a while, that doesn't mean I can't defend myself and my daughter."

"That's not what I meant, baby," Hunter sighed. "I just meant that when I come to where you two are-"

"You're not welcome here," Shawn interrupted. "And you have nobody but yourself to blame for that, Hunter. It's your fault that we can't go home. If you hadn't interrogated the beast, we wouldn't need to be in hiding. Stay away from me and my daughter or I won't hesitate to call the police."

"Shawn do you really think so lowly of me?" Hunter whispered. His voice was coated with dejection.

"Yes," he said shakily. Tears were threatening to fall down his unshaven face. "Goodbye, Hunter. Have fun trying to stop the beast."

And with that, Shawn ended the call and threw his phone towards the end of the bed.

* * *

"Who was on the phone, Daddy?" Hera asked, her voice scarcely above a whisper.

"Nobody, sweetie. Don't worry about it."

Hera's sweet eyes focused in on Shawn as he made his way around the apartment, attempting to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. Thankfully, it seemed as if Hera did not understand the full weight of the new situation. Sure, she knew that Brock Lesnar was out there and the damage that he could cause - she had constant proof of that every time that she looked at Shawn's arm. But she didn't know why they had been moved from the hotel and Shawn wanted to keep it that way. He didn't need her to know that Hunter had their phone number.

He walked over to the television, looking through the pre-stocked selection of DVDs. Vince had certainly gone all-out. He tried not to think that it was because he was Hunter's husband (because, really, if he had his way, he wouldn't have to call himself that much longer), and tried to think that maybe Vince liked him a little more than he let on. After kissing ass for how many years, he was always second-best to Hunter and just plain third-rate whenever Hera was in the room. Not that he minded with Hera. Hera was just adorable.

"Hera, you wanna see one of the Disney Princess movies?" Shawn offered. "Look at what we've got here. We have _Mulan, Mulan 2, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty_..." Shawn trailed off in amazement. "You think you have enough time to watch them all?"

"I want Daddy Hunter." Hera pouted, her little arms crossed over her chest. "Where Daddy Hunter?"

Shawn sighed. "I don't know where Daddy Hunter is, princess. I haven't been in contact with him recently."

But she didn't seem to believe them, "Where Daddy Hunter?" She repeated this over and over, before falling into a full-out tantrum. "I want Daddy. I want Daddy. I _want Daddy_." She screamed.

Shawn, knowing that they were as safe as they could possibly be, but still feeling the need to quiet her, he reached over and plucked her up from the ground. "Please, be quiet sweetie. I know that you want Daddy. I know. But we can't be together right now."

"Why not?" Hera sobbed. She was still kicking at Shawn's body, probably leaving bruises on his body.

"We need to be safe, sweetie. And right now, if we have anything to do with Daddy, we won't be safe." Shawn said.

Hera screamed again. Finally, Shawn put her down. "You just wanna keep me away from Daddy! I want Daddy!"

Shawn was getting frustrated now. "You know that's not true, Hera."

And then, the three crushing words that silently kill any parent. Like slow torture, they fell from her lips like a lethal poison that would rot him from the inside out. "I hate you!" And then she ran away.


	10. Chapter 10

It was the next day. Not that Hunter had slept that night - he couldn't have, even if he wanted to. He lay awake, staring at the ceiling, thinking of his husband and baby girl in some apartment building thousands upon thousands of miles away. Did Hera think about him? Did she even _remember_ him? Thoughts such as these plagued him constantly, and every time he closed his eyes, he thought about Shawn degrading him so cruelly. All he wanted to do was check-in on them, and Shawn had made it clear that the next time he tried, he would call the police.

There was a knock on the door. Hunter groaned, scowling at it, mentally willing it to burst into flames. When that didn't happen, he slowly rolled off of the bed. Another knock, this time harder. "Oh, for God sakes, calm down! I'm coming, I'm coming."

He swung the door open, barely having time to move aside before Stephanie McMahon welcomed herself into his hotel room. "I heard about the situation, Hunter. It's a mess... quite literally. But that doesn't mean that you can let your physical well-being sit on the backburner."

Hunter looked at her uneasily, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. He stifled a yawn. "Oh, yeah? And what exactly do you prescribe, Dr. McMahon?"

"Very funny, Hunter. Seriously, you're hilarious." She rolled her eyes. "You should be in the hospital right now! You can barely move your arm."

"You think I haven't realized that? It is my arm, after all." Hunter turned his back on her, sitting down on the foot of the bed. "But realizing it and caring about it are two very different things. My wrestling career is probably over and my family life is shot to hell. What's there left to care about?"

Stephanie frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hunter, I highly doubt that Shawn would want to see you handling it like _this_. You may be at odds with him right now, but that doesn't mean that he wants you to do permanent damage to your body."

"You didn't hear him, Steph." Hunter said.

"I may not have _heard_ him, but I _know_ him." She countered.

A surge of jealousy rose in Hunter's throat. "_I'm_ the one who's married to him. I think I know him more than you do."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's working perfectly right now too, isn't it?"

Hunter narrowed his eyes and took an involuntary step forward. Stephanie's eyes had a flicker of fear in them, yet she stood her ground like a righteous McMahon would.

"Why are you even here?" he hissed at her.

She flicked her brunette hair off her shoulder and cocked one of her legs outward. "We've been working very diligently in Creative as of late. We want you to begin a feud with Brock Lesnar."

Hunter groaned and sat back on his bed. "Haven't we already been in a 'feud'? Besides, my body is done. I can't keep fighting him, at least not now, anyway."

One of her arched eyebrows rose. "Are you telling me you're retiring?"

"No," Hunter groaned. "I just need some time off."

Stephanie closed her eyes and tapped her foot rapidly. "You're not in any condition to announce this now. Next episode of RAW, though, you're telling the fans."

"Why is this important? Why can't you just say I have some injury?" Hunter asked.

"Well, we've been slightly pushing the idea that you'd be coming back to wrestling for a bit," Steph admitted. "So you need to set those ideas to rest. I'll see you next week."

And without another word, the woman turned and left his hotel room. Hunter groaned again and fell back against his bed. McMahon's; they were all the same.

* * *

Hera refused to talk to Shawn for over a day, and every moment it continued he felt his spirit dying more and more. No matter how pissed off at Hunter he was, he was still a parent to Hera.

"Hera?" Shawn called. She was coloring in front of the TV, steadfastly ignoring him all the while. "Hera, honey, how would you like to call Daddy Hunter on the phone?"

Hera perked up and looked over at Shawn for the first time in several hours. "Really?" she asked, hopeful but still skeptical.

Shawn nodded. He patted the seat next to him and pulled out his phone. He had never seen Hera run so fast in her life. She scrambled up onto the couch with him while Shawn called the number that Hunter had called him from earlier. It picked up on the third ring.

"Shawn?" Hunter answered, confused.

"I have someone here who really wants to talk to you," Shawn said flatly. Just hearing Hunter's voice was making him angry.

"Hera?" Hunter exclaimed. He could almost feel the excitement rolling off of him.

"Yes," Shawn answered, before handing the phone over to his daughter.

Hera grabbed Daddy Shawn's phone in her little hands and held it to her ear. "Daddy Hunter?" she asked into the phone excitedly.

"Hera, baby," he said gently. "I miss you. How are you?"

"I miss you, Daddy," she said. Tears started welling in her eyes. "Come home, Daddy, please."

"I can't right now, Princess," Hunter said. It broke his heart to say so to his daughter. "Daddy has some stuff to do right now. I need you to be a good girl for Daddy Shawn, okay? I'll be back with you two as soon as I can. If you ever really miss me, and need me to be right there, I want you to have Daddy Shawn take you outside so you can look up at the sky. We'll always be looking at the same sun, or the same moon. The sky will keep us together, okay, baby?"

"Okay," Hera sniffled. "I love you Daddy."

"I love you too, Princess. Be good to your Daddy Shawn, okay? He loves you very much."

"Okay, Daddy. Bye bye."

Hera handed the phone back to Shawn, and he hung it up before giving his daughter a big hug.

"Do you still hate me?" Shawn asked. While he tried to make it sound lightly teasing, he was still hurting from those three words.

"No," Hera responded. She smiled a watery smile before she said, "let's watch one of those princess movies now. It's gonna take forever to watch all of them."


	11. Chapter 11

It had been two days since Shawn had called Hunter in order to make amends with Hera, and life had practically returned to normal. 'Practically' being the operative word there. Life would never be 'normal' again. Shawn had to be on constant alert to ensure the safety of himself and his daughter. Even if he was assured by Vince that Brock was not aware of where they were and wouldn't be coming after them any time soon, he was still worried. He had a sinking feeling that he would _always_ be worried. And now, it had started to cut into his sleep schedule.

That morning, he awoke around four, only to find himself alone in the bed. His heart hammered madly in his chest and he found his hand on the phone, already dialing 911, before he even had time to think it through like a rational human being. The security alarm hadn't gone off, so there hadn't been a breech. The window was closed, so nobody had gotten in through there. And the bedroom door was still closed. So where was Hera? Shawn turned on the light on the bedside table, feeling relief wash over him as he saw his baby girl sitting on the windowsill, looking at the stars.

"What're you doing, baby?" He asked her, trying not to sound like he hadn't had a mini heart attack ten seconds earlier.

Hera tore her attention away from the stars, looking at Shawn skeptically. "I'm sitting with Daddy Hunter."

Shawn looked confused. "Hera, sweetie, Daddy Hunter is thousands of miles away. You can't be sitting with him now."

But Hera shook her head. "No. You don't get it, Daddy." Hera pointed at the crescent moon, which glittered like diamonds in the black velvet sky. "Daddy sees that same moon. So we're sitting together, even though we're really far apart."

"Oh." Shawn felt his heart clench. For the first time, he had to remind himself that he was supposed to be angry with his husband. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to look at the moon, sweetie? We could have looked at it together?"

"Because you're mad at Daddy Hunter and you don't want to be with him no more. I missed him, and he told me that when I missed him, I should look at the stars and he'd be with me. So that's what I did."

Shawn sighed quietly. "It's very late, Hera. Say good-night to Daddy Hunter, and in the morning you can sit with him when the sun is out."

For once, she didn't argue. Her tiny voice whispered up towards the sky. She closed her eyes before blowing a kiss to the silver crescent in the sky. Afterwards, she slid off the windowsill and made her way back to bed. While her eyes shut and soft breaths escaped from her rosy lips, Shawn couldn't help but think he had noticed a change in his daughter's behavior in the past couple days. If he wasn't mistaken, he would have guessed she was depressed. It broke his heart to see the stress affecting his angel so negatively, but there wasn't a thing he could do about it. Hunter was done with them, and Brock was an untamed animal. Nobody could stop or control Brock Lesnar except Brock Lesnar. These thoughts consumed Shawn for several more hours until Hera woke again and made a beeline to the windowsill. With a sad exhale, Shawn got out of bed and went to make himself some coffee.

* * *

"Daddy, I miss you," Hera whispered. Looking directly at the sun hurt, so she looked just below it instead. "I miss living with you and Daddy Shawn and I miss going to daycare. I miss Uncle Vince and going to work with you. I miss your piggyback rides and when we would color and when we would make Daddy Shawn breakfast in bed. I don't like living here."

She wiped at her eyes, determined not to cry. Crying was for babies, and she was a big girl now. Her eyes flicked down to the ground below. Lots of people rushed by, but they couldn't go out and talk to them or play with them. Brock Lesnar might know where they were if they left the apartment. That big monster scared her more than anything. She knew Daddy Shawn was scared, too.

"Bye-bye, Daddy Hunter. Me and Daddy Shawn have to go watch Hercules and 101 Dalmatians now. I'm saving Beauty and the Beast for when I see you again Daddy. I know how you like to pretend to be the beast when I'm the princess. I love you!"

Hera hopped off the windowsill and left the bedroom. She found her daddy drinking coffee. It smelled good but tasted awful.

"Put on Hercules," she asked of Shawn as soon as she saw him. He set down his mug of coffee and put in the DVD. His angel had already curled up in a ball on the couch.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Would you like some fruit?" he asked again.

When she nodded, he got off the couch and went into the small kitchen. He cut up a few strawberries and half a banana and put them into a bowl before adding some blueberries and green grapes. He stuck one of her monogrammed child-sized forks into the bowl and brought it back. She took the bowl happily and ate her fruit while watching the movie set up. That was honestly the happiest he'd seen her in what seemed like a long time.

Before the movie was even halfway through, Shawn had passed out on the couch, and Hera quickly joined. They both fell into a deep sleep, something they had been denied of for many nights prior. In the midst of his sleeping, Shawn had grabbed his princess and laid her face down on his belly. That was the only way Hera would nap when she was a baby, and to this day both of them still felt comfortable like that. He rubbed her back slowly while he drifted off completely once more.


	12. Chapter 12

A chill ran up Hunter's spine as he sat on the balcony of his hotel room suite. The wind was picking up, and despite the fact it was still summertime, the temperature dropped significantly at night. He looked up at the sky with tired eyes and stared at the moon, which was nothing more than a small sliver lighting up the sky.

"Hey, baby girl," Hunter offered up to the sky. The stars twinkled against their black, velvety backdrop. He bit his lip as he continued. "I don't know when Daddy Shawn is going to let me back home. At this point, I honestly doubt that he ever will. I promise you, Hera, that I will make sure Brock Lesnar is never a threat to you. I know he's beaten me a few times in the past, but if he comes after you, nothing will stop me. You and Shawn mean more to me than anything in this world."

Once another shiver took over him, he pulled his jacket tighter around his body. He blew a kiss to the sky before retreating back inside. At this point, he'd sell his soul to have things go back to the way they used to be before Brock Lesnar entered their life.

* * *

A knock sounded on the front door, stirring Hera from her sleep. She carefully crawled off of Shawn's chest and got to her feet.

"Daddy, wake up. Somebody is here," she said, nudging his good arm. In response, Shawn let out a loud snore.

The knocking persisted. Shawn had told her to never open the door, that it was his job. But he also told her it was rude to ignore whoever was at the door. After thinking for a moment, and trying to wake her father again to no avail, she ran over to the door, dragging a step stool along with her. She fought to unlock all of the locks, and at the noise of her trying to do so, the knocking paused. Once she had unlatched everything, she stepped off the stool and opened the door. A short, fat guy was on the other side of the door, and he had a scarf tied around his nose and mouth.

"Who are you?" she asked with curiosity. "Are you here to see my daddy?"

The fat man shook his head. Instead, he pulled a bottle of lemon-lime soda out of his jacket and offered it to her. Her bright eyes lit up and she reached for it. The man took a step back, which forced Hera to take a step forward. He did that until she was in the hallway of the apartment by a few steps and then let her have it. She grabbed it and plopped onto the ground, trying to open the top. From behind her, she heard a door close and then a big man was kneeling next to her.

"Do you need help with that?" he asked, offering her a hand. She looked up into his blue eyes and nodded, smiling. His face had a scarf on it too. He took the bottle into his big hands and unscrewed the top before handing it back to her. She happily took a sip of her favorite soda while the big man and the fat man watched her. She smiled around the bottle and kicked her legs happily.

"Here, this floor looks uncomfortable. Why don't we take you somewhere nicer?" the big man asked.

Hera took the bottle off of her lips a little breathlessly. "Daddy Shawn told me not to go anywhere with strangers."

"We're not strangers, little girl. We're friends of your Daddy Shawn, and your Daddy Hunter," the big man assured her. Hera looked over to the fat man, and he nodded in agreement.

"What's your name?" Hera asked them before returning the bottle to her lips.

"I'm your Uncle B," the big man told her. The fat man told her, "I'm your Uncle Paul."

Uncle B looked at Hera again. "So, what do you say, Hera? Let's go somewhere nicer."

Hera looked a little skeptical still, but she nodded. Uncle B lifted her up gently and held her against his chest with one of his arms. She giggled and looked up at her uncle's face. Even with the scarf covering his face, she could see he was smiling.

* * *

Shawn awoke to find himself alone in bed for the second time. At first, he didn't think too much of it. After all, hadn't Hunter told Hera that she could look at the sun or the stars and they'd be together? But something told him that something about this situation was wrong... very wrong. On instinct alone, he rolled over, looking at the clock with half-lidded eyes. It was around 4:30 AM. In other words, just dark enough to still be considered night, but just light enough so that none of the stars could be seen. Hera wouldn't be looking outside under those conditions.

"Hera?" He tried not to let the panic seep into his voice, just in case his little girl was still somewhere in the apartment. "Hera, sweetie, where are you? This isn't funny, Hera." In a matter of minutes, he'd managed to search the entire bedroom. "Hera!"

His terror was mounting. Quickly, he raced out of the bedroom and made his way down the hallway, noticing fearfully that all of the lights had been turned off. By now, he was moving faster. Faster, faster. He skidded to a halt when he came to the main area - a combination of the dining room and the kitchen. She wasn't anywhere to be found. And that's when he saw it. The unlatched door, the step-stool that had been so haphazardly knocked aside... someone had taken his daughter, and by now, they were _long _gone.

With a trembling hand, Shawn took out his phone, quickly dialing 911. _"911, what's your emergency?"_

"S-Someone j-just took m-m-my four-year-old d-daughter." Shawn forced out.

_"Hold on one moment, sir. An officer is being dispatched to your location."_


End file.
